How to Pack a Simple Beauty Bag for Travel

Posted by Gin Mabey on Jul 09, 2019

How to Pack a Simple Beauty Bag for Travel

Going on a weekend trip? Taking a much-needed holiday? Want to pack super lightly or don’t have much baggage allowance? No worries! You can still be equipped with all of your skincare and beauty must-haves without hauling your entire beauty collection across the skies.

1. Skincare

Get yourself some leak-free travel-sized bottles to transfer your skincare products into. Something like this pack of TSA-approved bottles is ideal for shatter-free, space-saving packing.

Transfer your cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen into the bottles and away you go! Leave the bulky original packaging safe at home.

If you can’t leave your oils, serums, and treatments behind, find some small, tight containers such as these ones. You won’t risk smashing your glass oil or serum bottles, or risk losing them for that matter! No-one wants their entire stash of expensive skincare lost in the airways.

2. Base

Take a concealer or foundation which can double as the other. Something like the RCMA foundation ($23) is handy because you can use it for a full-coverage base or a super sheer wash of color. Use it to spot conceal too.

Because it’s solid, it won’t smash or spill through your bag. For powder, ask your local Sephora for a sample powder, or decant your loose setting powder into a mini jar or container such as an empty lip-scrub pot.

3. Eyes

If you’re not a shadow gal, simply skip the eyeshadows and take a mascara, brow product and your go-to liner. (Brands like Benefit and Nars do sell mini versions of their cult mascaras, but I find that my full-size mascaras are perfectly fine being tucked into my makeup bag so I don’t bother with the extra cost).

Use your face products (blush and bronzer) to contour and warm-up the eyes. If you can’t live without shadow, bring one of your LiveGlam ShadowMe palettes, it’s small enough for saving space but varied enough for lots of looks! Their Flocking Fabulous and P.S. I Love You palette is available now.

4. Blush, bronze, highlight

A slimline face palette with bronzer, blush and highlight is a fantastic idea. Something small-but-thorough like the Tarte Tarteist Pro Glow to Go Highlight & Contour Palette ($19) is a great choice for scultping and highlighting. It’s designed for saving space, and there are three stunning shades. You could even skip the eyeshadow palette and simply use this to shade and highlight the eyes as well as the face. Use a lipstick to add warm, cream-based color to the cheeks!

Another great option is a little wee blush stuck which can be doubled as a lip and cheek duo. The Milk Makeup Mini Lip + Cheek ($14) could take care of your lips, cheeks, and eyes all in one.

5. Lips

Okay, so the lip products can go in your handbag to save room in your makeup bag (and so they’re in reach for regular re-applications). Just make sure they’re in a transparent, zip-lock bag.

One thing you absolutely need to have in your carry-on is a hydrating lip balm. Long flights are ruthless on the skin, especially the lips.

What about color? Well, I personally get panicked that I won’t have the lip color I want at the time (irrational fear, I know!) so here are my rules for packing lip products: one nude lipstick , one bold lipstick (often red), one versatile gloss (pink-toned) and one neutral liner which will go with everything. Those cover all bases (I can mix them if need be) but they won’t take up too much room. For the perfect travel shades, check out Numero Uno, Let’s Flamingle, and Fiancée from LiveGlam’s Lippie Club, KissMe! All of these shades are available on their Shop page.

Gin is a beauty enthusiast with a passion for makeup she's had since kindergarten when she would raid her Mum's makeup drawer. When she's not playing with new products and writing about makeup, she's a theatre actress, director and producer.

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